Family Secrets
by FaithInHim4ever
Summary: When Paige finds her long lost sister, Charlotte, she must prove she'll be able to take care of her. Will Paige be able to balance magic and motherhood at the same time? R/R


Family Secrets

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own any of the characters from "Charmed." They belong to the WB. I do however own Paige's younger sister, Charlotte. I also own Paige's husband, Matt, along with their daughter, Savannah. Anyone else you don't recognize, I own as well. I also own Paige's middle name of Lindsay.

Enjoy!

A/N: As I've said before, this story, like the other "Charmed" ones I will be posting, was written around the time Paige became a part of the family. Since Paige is my main favorite character, most of my stories will be centered on her. In short, if Paige had not have become a part of the family, I would NOT have started watching the show. With that said, I hope everyone enjoys this story, along with my other old "Charmed" stories I will be posting here.

"Family Secrets"

Paige Lindsay Halliwell was sitting at her desk at south bay social services, trying to ignore a headache that had been waging a war against her for the last few hours. She had been at work now for six hours and she wanted to go home. Little did she know how valuable she would be in the next hour.

As Paige took out a pen and began to sign a placement form, Darryl came into the office. He came straight over to Paige and asked, "Can you come here? I need your help."

"What is it?" Paige asked. "I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"It's important," Darryl said. "A little girl is outside and she's really scared. I need to leave her here, but I don't want to until I'm sure she'll be okay. Her name is Charlotte. She's about six years old."

Paige nodded and pushed her paperwork aside. She followed Darryl outside to his car. She hoped she would be able to help this little girl. She hated seeing children in pain. That was one of the reasons she had become a social worker in the first place. She loved helping people, especially children.

When they got there, Darryl introduced Paige to Charlotte.

"Charlotte, honey, this is Paige. She's going to stay with you and help you find a place to stay. She's a good friend of mine. Paige, this is Charlotte."

For a few minutes, Paige couldn't speak. Charlotte was like looking into a mirror of the past. She had Paige's brown eyes and her chestnut brown hair. The only difference was, Charlotte's clothes were a little more dirty and of course she was much younger than Paige.

"Paige?" Darryl asked. "Paige, are you okay?"

Paige nodded as she came out of her trance.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'll take her. Come on, sweetheart. You'll be safe with me. I promise. Come on. Let's get you a stuffed animal and something to drink. Then you can hang out with me until we find somewhere for you to go." She smiled warmly down at the scared child.

Charlotte took Paige's hand timidly and the two made their way back to Paige's office.

When they got there, Paige got Charlotte a drink of juice and some crayons and a coloring book to keep her entertained.

She was about to let Charlotte pick out a stuffed animal, but thought better of it when she saw Charlotte staring at Firefly.

"Do you like her, sweetie?" Paige asked.

Charlotte nodded.

"Here ya go," Paige handed Firefly to Charlotte, who took her with such care, Paige was amazed.

Charlotte smiled at Paige and whispered, "Thank you."

"Aw, you're welcome, sweetie. Now, why don't you sit here and play with Firefly while I get some work done. Everything's going to be okay. I promise."

Charlotte nodded. She gave Paige a smile before starting to brush Firefly's mane.

The little girl gazed up to see two other ponies sitting on Paige's desk. One of them had rainbow colored hair and the other one had flowers on her hips with a pink mane.

"May I play with Posey and Flutterbye, please?" Charlotte asked. She always asked before touching anything that didn't belong to her. Her older sister had taught her manners and Charlotte always tried her best to use them.

Paige looked up from the paper she had been reading before nodding her head.

"You sure can." Paige replied. She handed Charlotte the sed ponies and watched her play for awhile.

Charlotte's voice brought Paige out of her thoughts.

"You know, my older sister used to say that all the time." Then seeing the look of confusion that flashed across Paige's face, the little girl explained. "That everything was going to be okay whenever something bad happened. She always made a sign with her fingers too."

Paige nodded, unable to speak for a minute. When she regained her voice, she took the plunge.

"Did the sign look like this?" Paige asked. With that, she put her index finger and pointer finger together, showing Charlotte her signature promise sign.

Charlotte's jaw about hit the ground when she realized what was going on. She nodded as a grin spread across her face.

"That's it! I can't believe it! It's you! You said God would help us find each other again and you were right!" With that, Charlotte jumped from her seat and wrapped her arms around Paige's neck hugging her tightly.

Paige returned the hug before letting Charlotte sit on her lap for a few minutes. She had missed this little girl so much and she was determined to keep her with her this time. There was no way she was going to let anyone take her away again.

"I missed you too, Char-Char. I missed you so much." With that, the two sisters shared a few minutes of quality time before Charlotte went back to drawing and Paige tackled the last big of paperwork she had to do.

Paige worked for an hour more before she finally decided to call it quits. She had to get home and she couldn't wait to introduce Charlotte to Piper and Phoebe.

She knew that Piper and Phoebe would want to know where Charlotte had come from and Paige was going to try her best to explain the story in full detail.

"Excuse me…." A tiny voice said, breaking Paige out of her thoughts. "Paige, I have to go potty."

Paige smiled down at Charlotte and nodded. She stood up and extended her hand towards the little girl.

"Sure. Let's go, sweetheart."

Charlotte nodded and smiled at Paige as she led her to the bathroom.

After they both had done their business, Paige clocked out and took Charlotte home.

Upon arriving at the Manor, Paige set her stuff down and called out, "Sisters!! I'm home!!"

"Hey squirt!!" Came Piper's voice. "I'm in the kitchen!"

Paige led Charlotte into the kitchen, where she could smell something delicious cooking. She could tell the child was becoming shy, but she assured Charlotte she had nothing to worry about.

"Hey Missy Paige!" Piper greeted, using her first nickname for her little sister. "How was your day at work?"

"Fine," Paige replied. She took a few sips from the can of iced tea Piper had set in front of her.

Piper nodded. Her gaze fell upon Charlotte who was sitting in Paige's lap.

"Hi sweetie." Then Piper turned to Paige and asked, "Who is this?"

Paige didn't have time to answer because at that moment, Phoebe came in. she smiled when she saw Paige and looked confused at Charlotte.

"Whose…" Her voice trailed off as Piper told her to stay quiet.

"I just asked that question." Piper said. "Paige was just about to answer it." She then turned her gaze upon Paige as Phoebe glanced her way too.

Paige sighed.

"Sit down you guys, this is going to be a long story."

"Longer than the one where you used magic to clean your friend's pimples?" Piper asked with a smirk.

Paige glared at her and then took a deep breath.

"Whose the kid?" Phoebe asked.

Paige took another deep breath before saying, "Piper, Phoebs, I want you to meet Charlotte. My little sister."

The silence that filled the room after Paige's confession seemed thick enough to cut through the toughest block of ice.

"She's your….our…." Phoebe couldn't bring herself to say it. She was too shocked.

Charlotte felt the tension in the room and reacted the only way she knew how. She buried her face in Paige's shoulder, crying softly.

Paige silently rubbed Charlotte's back, trying to calm her down. She couldn't talk anymore at the moment. When she finally regained her voice, she said quietly, but urgently, "Guys, come on, say something. THE silence is killing me and it's scaring Char."

"Char?" Phoebe asked, raising her eyebrows.

Paige nodded.

"It's her nickname from me. I called her by it ever since she first came to live with us when she was ten months old."

Charlotte nodded in confirmation to Paige's explanation. The little girl let out a sob, but started to relax in Paige's embrace.

"Aw, that's a girl. Everything's going to be okay." Paige assured Charlotte. "You're safe now. I have you. You're safe with Paige. You're okay…"

"They don't like me," She said quietly. "Are they mad at me?"

Piper's heart broke at this. She got up off her chair while glaring at Phoebe and knelt down in front of Charlotte. She put a hand on Charlotte's back, which caused the child to look at her and pull away slightly.

"Charlotte, honey, we aren't mad at you, sweetie. We aren't. I promise. Phoebe is just a little tired from work, that's all. Hey, do you like brownies?"

Paige gasped and Charlotte nodded, her tears subsiding a little.

"Wow! Piper never lets me have brownies before dinnertime," Paige said. "She must really like you a lot to give you such a special snack."

Charlotte gave Piper a small smile.

"Thank you."

"Aw, you're welcome, sweetheart. Do you want some milk with your brownie?"

Charlotte nodded.

"Yes, please? Thank you."

"Aw, you're welcome. Such nice manners." She smirked at Paige who glared playfully at her. Paige knew Piper was only kidding with her.

After Piper had given Charlotte her brownie and milk, she gave Paige one and set one in front of Phoebe without a word. She knew something was wrong with Phoebe and Piper was determined to figure out what it was. She didn't like the way Phoebe was acting and it was doing nothing to help Charlotte feel welcome or comfortable here. If anything, it was making her feel the complete opposite.

"I'll be right back," Phoebe said. She got up, but Piper stopped her in her tracks.

"Freeze!" She said, making Charlotte jump and Paige giggle. She shot a knowing look Paige's way. "You know what I mean." Piper said, turning to Paige. "Maybe you should take Charlotte into the living room and put on one of your "My Little Pony" tapes for her. I'm sure she'll like that."

"I'm sure she will too. She's already fallen in love with Firefly." Paige smiled fondly down at her little sister. She knew that there were a lot of questions to be answered on her part and Piper and Phoebe would expect answers, but for now, the most important thing was getting Charlotte settled. She took Charlotte

into the other room and put on "The Quest for the Golden Horseshoes" for her. As they sat and watched the movie, they could hear Piper lecturing Phoebe in the kitchen.

When Paige saw that it was upsetting Charlotte, she closed the kitchen door and settled back down to enjoy the movie with her little sister.

After a few minutes, Charlotte settled herself in Paige's lap while resting her head against her right shoulder. She remembered how safe she felt whenever Paige held her and she smiled as she felt her big sister wrap an arm around her and hug her close.

"I really missed this." Paige told Charlotte, truthfully.

Charlotte nodded in agreement as she snuggled into Paige for a cuddle.

"Me too." She agreed.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Phoebe was not getting hugs and cuddles from Piper. In stead she was getting a well deserved lecture.

"Phoebe, why are you acting like this?" Piper asked, wanting a straight forward answer from her sister. "You didn't treat Paige like this when she first came back to live here. If anything, you're acting out my role the first time I met Paige again. and frankly, I don't like it one bit. That little girl needs us to help her feel welcomed and like she belongs. Like it or not, Paige is going to adopt her. So whatever wiccan chip you have on your shoulder, get over it fast." Piper took a deep breath and waited for Phoebe to respond.

"Are you finished rambling and ranting?" Phoebe asked, her eyes staring back at Piper in annoyance.

"Don't take that tone with me, Phoebe Marie." Piper said sternly. "You know very well how you acted in there was wrong. And to answer your question, yes, I'm finished."

Phoebe nodded and then said her peace.

"First of all, I'm not jealous of Charlotte. Secondly, I don't have a wiccan chip on my shoulder towards the kid. Thirdly, I have one towards Paige."

"Why?" Piper asked. "I'm sure Paige didn't plan for this to happen. It's not like she woke up this morning and wrote a list of things to do. 1. Go to work. 2. Get lunch. 3. Find my long lost baby sister and bring her home to shock Piper and Phoebe. Honey, it wasn't like that at all and you know it."

Phoebe nodded, but her glare towards the closed door was evident.

"I know, but she could have explained herself a lot better. She didn't have to say it in a rush like that."

Piper nodded.

"Well, you didn't give her a chance. She'll probably explain it better tonight once Charlotte is asleep."

"Maybe you're right."

Little did they know, Paige was listening outside the door. She had come in to get Charlotte and herself something else to drink and had heard every word that Phoebe and Piper had said. How dare Phoebe think that she, Paige, intended for this to happen. She didn't intentionally do this. It wasn't her fault and it certainly wasn't Charlotte's. Charlotte was the innocent in all of this.

Paige's insides boiled with anger as she grabbed a Ssips from the cabinet outside the kitchen and went back to join Charlotte. She wasn't going to explain anything to Phoebe, not until Phoebe started acting her age and treated Charlotte nicer and Paige with the respect she deserved. She would tell Piper though, but not Phoebe.

Dinner that night was a very tense affair. At least on Phoebe's end. She didn't talk much and excused herself early to go to bed. Piper didn't buy it, but she let it go for now. She knew Phoebe would come around in time. She only prayed it was sooner rather than later. Especially for Charlotte's sake.

After dinner was over, Paige put on "My Little Pony: Firefly's Adventure" for Charlotte and sat down to talk to Piper. As long as Paige was in the same room with Charlotte, the little girl was okay. She liked sitting in Paige's lap, but she could tell that Paige and Piper needed to talk so she sat on the floor and played with Firefly, Fizzy, Baby Lofty and Baby Half Note while watching the movie.

Paige smiled fondly down at her baby sister while she filled Piper in on the details.

"It happened when I was about sixteen. My birthday was two months away and that's when my parents adopted Charlotte. As you know I was into a lot of D-R-U-G-S and A-L-C-O-H-O-L and partying a lot, but when Charlotte came home with us, I immediately stopped all of that. My parents said that it

was like a miracle. I started doing better in school and didn't require as much counseling. I even baby-sat Charlotte every weekend so Mom and Dad could go out for dinner. I loved her to pieces. I still do of course, but I mean back then, she was my world. She was the wake up call I needed to straighten up my life. Then when our parents died, Charlotte was barely three and I was just seventeen. Of course the DCFS people didn't think I was able to take care of Char-Char on my own. I was only eight months sober and they were afraid of me slipping again. Of course I thought differently, but it was no use. The next day, they placed us in different foster homes and I was devastated. Charlotte was upset too, but she didn't understand the extent of it. All she understood was she was being taken away from the one person she considered a mother. The one person she could count on for anything. And that person was me."

As the memories invaded Paige's mind, she closed her eyes while subconsciously reaching out for Piper's hand. She needed her big sister's comfort now more than ever. While Paige was aware that the memories couldn't hurt her physically, she was still hurt by them emotionally…

Seventeen-year old Paige Lindsay Mathews glared at the social worker sitting in front of her. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It couldn't be true.

"are you kidding me?" She asked, not sure she had heard Linda Morgan correctly. "You're going to split Charlotte and me up?"

The young woman shook her head. She hated seeing families be split apart, but there was nothing she could do in this case.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do.

"Like hell there isn't!" Paige spat. She was aware that using foul language wasn't the best way to make this woman do what she wanted, but she was too ticked off to care at this point. Charlotte was her world. She couldn't let anyone split them up. She needed Charlotte as much as Charlotte needed her. And if Paige couldn't stop this, she was certainly going to do everything in her power to see that she put up a good fight.

"I'm the only one who has ever been there for that little girl. She doesn't know anything else. I've always been there for her. If you split us apart, you'll destroy her."

"I understand what you're saying." Linda told her, but Paige shook her head.

"No you don't. Don't you dare sit there and tell me you understand, because it's a lie! You've never had someone come into your life who made you realize the joy of taking care of another person. You never had a bad day and know that the minute you look into those innocent eyes, nothing else matters as long as she's there to make you smile. Charlotte means everything to me. I can't lose her. And you're going to help make it so I don't. You're a social worker. You're supposed to act in the best interest of your charges, so you can start with us."

Linda felt as though she had been slapped in the face. She recovered quickly and gave Paige an earnest look.

"I'll try my best." She told her.

Paige shook her head.

"You better do more than try your best." With that, she left the office.

That night, Paige had trouble sleeping. Charlotte did too. She climbed into Paige's bed somewhere around two in the morning and snuggled up to her big sister.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Paige asked, pulling her baby sister close.

"No." Came the soft reply. "I'm scared! I don't want you to le aver me!" With that, the tears burst fourth.

"Who told you that?" Paige asked, rocking Charlotte slightly. She was angry that someone had been so careless as to discuss their case in front of a baby-her baby.

Charlotte didn't answer. She merely buried her face in Paige's shoulder, seeking comfort from the one person who had always been there for her since before she could talk.

"Char, listen to me." Paige instructed kindly. "I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but I do know one thing."

"What?" Charlotte asked, already half asleep.

"If you are taken away from me, God will help us find each other again. I know He will."

"I don't wanna leave you!" Charlotte cried, suddenly wide awake.

"I know you don't, sweetheart. I know. But we might not have a choice." Paige admitted. "But never forget that I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too!" Charlotte whimpered.

The two sisters didn't get much sleep for the rest of the night. They were both afraid of what was to come.

The next day was the worst day of Paige's life. She felt her heart break as Linda told her that she and Charlotte would have to be separated.

As Paige sat in the back of Linda's car, heading for another foster home, she could still hear Charlotte calling for her in her mind. Her sobs were heart wrenching and her tears flowed freely down her face. She might have only been two years old, but she knew enough to know that she wasn't with Paige anymore.

As Paige sat there, she let her own tears fall. She loved Charlotte so much and now she felt like she had failed her. She had promised Charlotte that she would protect her and now she had broken that promise.

As Paige stared out the window, she remembered her words of comfort and truth to Charlotte the night before.

"God will help us find each other again." With that, Paige started to pray, hoping she had been right. She just prayed Charlotte would be okay until she found her again. Little did Paige know just how right she was…

"That was the most devastating thing I ever had to do." Paige confided in Piper. "I didn't want to let her go! I never did."

Piper nodded and pulled Paige in for a comforting hug.

"Of course you didn't, sweetie. But Charlotte's safe and sound now. She's back home where she belongs."

Paige nodded as she wiped a few tears away with the back of her hand.

"So what happened then?" Piper inquired. She had a feeling there was more to the story.

Heaving a sigh, Paige continued from where she had left off.

"When I turned eighteen, I looked and looked for Charlotte, but I couldn't find her anywhere. I prayed and prayed that God

would reunite us and it looks like he answered my prayers."

Paige smiled down at Charlotte even though she was crying a little. She then said in a tearful whisper, "I can't lose her again, Pipe. I can't. Please, talk to Phoebe. Please."

Piper nodded and embraced her younger sister. She knew Paige was scared and confused and she wanted more than anything to help her feel better.

"Honey, it doesn't matter if Phoebe acts like a spoiled brat for awhile, you still are adopting Charlotte. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Paige nodded as she relaxed in Piper's loving and safe embrace.

Piper stroked Paige's hair gently while trying to calm her down.

"Charlotte can sleep in my bed tonight. I can take the couch."

"No way." Paige said. "Thanks for the offer, Pipe, but Charlotte can sleep with me. You need your bed. Besides, I don't' think she would do well sleeping alone her first night in a strange place."

Piper nodded as she too smiled down at the little girl who was now playing happily with Paige's old ponies. Even though Paige had had them since she was four years old. She had taken very good care of them and they were almost mint.

After the movie was over, Paige got Charlotte ready for bed. She let her wear one of her old "Little Mermaid" nightgowns and then she tucked her in for the night.

"Sweet dreams, Char-Char." Paige said, giving Charlotte a kiss and hug. "I love you, sweetie."

Charlotte returned Paige's hug and kiss.

"I love you too, Paige. Sweet dreams." Then she added, "I'm happy God helped us find each other again."

Paige nodded as she felt a lump form in her throat.

"Me too, kiddo. See ya in the morning. We'll go shopping tomorrow for some new clothes and a few other things."

"Sounds fun," Charlotte said sleepily. As she closed her eyes, she held Firefly close and Paige felt a sudden urge to let Charlotte keep her. She had two Fireflys and the other one was in her Dream Castle in the playroom. It was mint too. Besides, Firefly was doing the same thing for Charlotte that she had

done for Paige all those years before and Paige was happy to hand her down to Charlotte. She knew Charlotte would take good care of her.

As Paige crawled into bed beside Charlotte, she started stroking Charlotte's hair gently. Before drifting off to sleep, Paige said a prayer that God would help them get through the next few weeks…

The next morning, Charlotte woke up in a happy mood. She still was a little scared of her new surroundings, but once she knew Paige was there, she was okay.

Charlotte had breakfast with Paige and Piper after helping Paige make the bed. Charlotte enjoyed helping people.

During breakfast, the three talked about little things and Piper tried to get to know Charlotte more.

After breakfast was over, Paige got herself and Charlotte ready to go to the mall.

Piper wanted to come, but she couldn't because

she had to go to P3. Celine Dion was playing there tonight and she had to get stuff ready. She had told Paige to bring Charlotte down after they were done shopping and Paige said she would think about it. she didn't know how tired Charlotte was going to be and she wanted her to get a nap if she could.

When they got to the mall, Charlotte held Paige's hand as they walked through the stores. She told Paige what her favorite colors were and Paige tried to

pick out outfits that were pink, blue and purple, as well as multi-colored.

While browsing through the racks in Boscov's, Paige found a jumpsuit that was pink and blue that she and Charlotte fell in love with.

They bought matching sun dresses and Paige promised that they would wear them to the beach when the weather warmed up a little.

Charlotte liked that idea and she was all smiles. She loved being with her big sister again.

After Paige had picked out some underclothes for Charlotte, along with a pair of sandals, she paid for the items and then took Charlotte to the toy store.

Once there, Paige lead her to where the "My Little Pony" section was and Charlotte picked out Baby Moondancer, Baby Glory and Galaxy. Paige also bought her Cupcake and Magic Star.

After they paid for Charlotte's new ponies, Paige took her to Carlos' Pizza Cave for lunch and they each got two slices of pizza and shared fries while Paige had a salad.

Charlotte was a good eater and that please Paige. It also pleased Paige that Charlotte enjoyed eating at home better than out. She enjoyed the pizza and she liked eating out every once in a while, like today, but she liked home cooking better.

Paige knew that Charlotte would like Piper's cooking

once she got to taste it a little more.

After they left the mall, Paige took Charlotte to the park and pushed her on the swings for awhile. She swung herself too, and showed Charlotte how to pump her legs by herself.

After they spent some time at the park, Paige could tell that Charlotte was becoming tired, so she decided to take her home.

When they got there, Paige put Charlotte to bed in the living room and opened up Baby Moondancer so that she could hold her along with Firefly.

After Charlotte was fast asleep, Paige called Piper

to let her know that she and Charlotte were okay.

"Hey Pipe!" Paige said in a loud whisper. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Piper said. "I'm just doing inventory. How did your day go?"

"It went fine. We had fun. I bought her four "My Little Ponies and some clothes. Then we went to have pizza at the Cave and then to the park. The poor thing is exhausted. She's fast asleep on the couch now. She asked me to ask you if you could make pasta tonight. She loves it."

"I sure will." Piper said. "I know you like it too."

"What about Phoebs?" Paige asked warily.

"The way Phoebe is acting, she can eat in the basement for all I care."

Piper laughed and Paige did too. She knew Piper didn't mean it.

While Piper told Paige about her day, Paige listened intently. She then went over to check on Charlotte.

As she did so, she started rubbing her back and Charlotte

flinched a little. This got Paige worried and she decided to do a little more investigating. She told Piper to hold on while she checked on Charlotte.

As Paige lifted up the side of Charlotte's shirt, she gasped!

Bruises covered her little sister's right side and there were fading ones on her stomach.

As Paige put the shirt down gently, she bent down and gave Charlotte a kiss on her cheek.

"Sweet dreams, Char-Char. Your big sister's right here. I'm never going to let anyone hurt you again." With that, she got back on the phone and said, "Piper, I need you to come home now."

"Why? Is something wrong?" Piper asked, becoming worried.

"Oh yeah. Something's very wrong." Paige replied, while glaring out of the window.

"Okay. I'll be right there."

Piper arrived home an hour later to find Charlotte awake and watching "My Little Pony: The Quest for the Golden Horseshoes". She smiled down at her and patted her shoulder gently.

"Hey, Charlotte. How was your day, sweetie?"

"Great!" Charlotte exclaimed happily. "Paige and I went to the mall and look what she bought me!!" She showed Piper Galaxy and Baby Moondancer and Baby Glory.

"Aw, they're so cute!" Piper said. "Maybe I'll play with you later."

"Okay!" Charlotte said. "Paige is in the kitchen making a snack for us."

Piper nodded and patted Charlotte's shoulder before going into the kitchen to see what Paige was up to. She found her making a vegetable dip and cutting some broccoli and colliflower in a bowl. A Ssips was sitting near the bowl as was a cup of iced tea.

"Hey Missy Paige," Piper said, giving Paige a kiss on her cheek. "So what's the big emergency. Charlotte seems fine to me. She's watching a video and playing "My Little Pony" without a care in the world."

"That's because I haven't talk to her yet. And I don't have the heart to do it before dinner, especially since you're going to make her favorite meal."

"What exactly do you have to talk to Charlotte about. You lost me a little."

"I went to check on her while she was sleeping," Paige said while closing the door, so that Charlotte wouldn't hear their conversation, "and I started rubbing her back a little and she flinched, so I decided to check it out. I lifted up her shirt and there were bruises on her side as well as her stomach. Something's not right and I want to find out what it is. It might be the thing that makes or breaks my chances of adopting her."

Piper nodded and her jaw about hit the ground. She was in shock. How could anyone hurt someone so innocent and sweet? How could anyone do that to anybody? Let alone a child.

She regained her composure and said, "Do you want me to be there when you talk to her?"

"No," Paige said. "I think it should be just us. I'll tell you everything of course, but the initial conversation should just be between Char and me. There's going to be a lot of struggle and tears because she won't want to talk and I know how to calm her down so she can."

Piper nodded and helped Paige get the snack ready. She respected Paige's decision and she knew that if Paige or Charlotte needed her help, either one of them would come to her in time.

After Paige had brought the snack into the living room, she gave Charlotte her Ssips and then put the tray of vegetables and dip on the coffee table in front of them. She watched the rest of the movie with Charlotte and then suggested that they take a walk.

Charlotte agreed almost right away. She asked Paige if they could bring Firefly with them and her older sister said yes.

As they walked down the street, Paige started a conversation that would hopefully get Charlotte to open up.

"Ya know I didn't always live with my sisters," she started carefully.

Charlotte looked up at her with interest.

"You didn't?" She asked. "Didn't you find them after we were…" Her voice trailed off and Paige knew what her little sister was thinking of.

"Nope. I was put in different homes for three years before I found Piper and Phoebe. And it wasn't easy fitting in with them either. Thankfully, Phoebe was a sweetheart, but Piper was really mean to me."

Charlotte's eyes widened.

"Piper was mean and Phoebe was nice?"

Paige giggled a little.

"Yes."

"Did Piper say she was sorry?"

"Yes. After awhile. It took her a little while, but she finally apologized and we became closer. That's why we're so close now." Paige waited a moment before she continued. "Did you fit in with the families that you were with?"

Charlotte's gaze fell upon the ground and she gripped tighter to Firefly for comfort..

"Char-Char?" Paige asked, looking down at Charlotte in concern.

Charlotte sighed and shook her head.

"No. They were really mean. My foster Mommy wouldn't let me eat. Sometimes if I was bad, she would….." Charlotte's voice trailed off as her lower lip started to tremble. "….she hurt me. She hurt me really bad! I was so scared of her!" With that, she burst into tears.

Paige picked Charlotte up and hugged her close. She started stroking Charlotte's hair and rubbing her back gently, so she wouldn't hurt the still fresh bruises that were there.

"Shh," Paige soothed. "Shh, shh. It's okay, Char-Char. It's okay, honey. That's it. You're okay. You're all right. Your big sister's here. I Have you now. I'm never going to let anyone hurt you again. I promise." She gave Charlotte a kiss on her cheek and let her cry for a few more minutes. She then got an idea. She wanted to reward Charlotte for telling her as much as she did and she knew the perfect way.

"Hey," Paige said after Charlotte had calmed down, "how about we go get ice cream? Would you like that?"

Charlotte nodded.

"But Piper's making dinner. Won't she be mad?"

Paige shook her head.

"Nah. She's cool about things like that. Trust me, sweetie. She won't mind a bit. Let's go." Paige led the way to an ice cream parlor she had gone to as a kid.

When they got inside, Paige ordered a vanilla with sprinkles for herself and Charlotte had a peanut butter chocolate scoop with sprinkles and chocolate fudge. They ate their frozen treat while talking about everything except Charlotte's past. Paige was going to give her some time before she asked her anymore questions. She had heard all she needed to know for now. It was time to let it go and let Charlotte have the fun she missed out on for the first four years of her life.

As Paige sat there, munching on her own ice cream cone, she made herself a promise. She promised herself that she would adopt Charlotte and show her a better life if it was the last thing she did.

When they arrived back at the Manor, Paige sent Charlotte up to wash her hands and she sat down with Piper to talk.

"Did you get anything out of her?" Piper asked.

"Oh yeah. I got something out of her all right. The poor girl was abused by her foster parents. Her foster siblings didn't' help much either. She was punished from eating and she would get beaten for really minor offenses. In other words, accidents."

"Wow!" Piper said, her jaw about hit the ground. She regained her composure once again and gave Paige a hug. "It's going to be okay, Missy Paige. It will. Trust me. Charlotte has us now. She has you. We're not going to let anything happen to her."

Paige nodded and rested her head on Piper's shoulder for about five minutes.

Just then, Phoebe came downstairs. She looked upset.

"Can you tell "your" little sister not to leave her clothes on the floor, please?"

Paige glared at Phoebe before replying to her statement.

"That was my fault. I forgot to put them in the hamper. Sorry, Phoebs. But for your information, "my" little sister

is soon going to be your little sister so you better start being nicer to her and lose the attitude."

Phoebe just glared at Paige as she left to get ready for dinner. She didn't need a lecture from her little sister and she certainly didn't need Paige telling her what to do. She had had Prue for that since she was little till she was twenty-four, and she didn't need another person doing it. she didn't mind as much if Piper did it, but that was because it was her job. Not Paige's.

After Phoebe was gone, Piper gave Paige a reassuring pat on her shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, squirt. I promise."

"I hope you're right, Pipe. I really hope you're right."

Piper smiled at this.

"You know I am."

Paige giggled as Charlotte came into the room. She climbed into Paige's lap and snuggled in for a cuddle. Paige wrapped her arms around Charlotte protectively and gave her a kiss.

"Ready for the most delicious pasta you've ever tasted?" Piper asked, smiling at Charlotte.

Charlotte nodded and grinned as she gave Paige a kiss before going to sit on her own chair.

During dinner, Piper, Paige and Charlotte talked about all kinds of stuff. Phoebe just stayed quiet. She didn't' want to talk to anyone and she was still mad at Paige. She wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of talking to her. She glared over at Charlotte as Paige dished out some noodles and helped the little girl cut them.

Phoebe was sitting across from her, but she wanted to sit next to Piper.

"There ya go, Char," Paige said as she dished some out on her own plate.

"Thank you," Charlotte said before taking a sip of her milk and starting to eat.

"Aw, you're welcome, sweetie. Eat up now. I'm telling you, you haven't tasted pasta until you've tasted Piper's."

Charlotte nodded and dug in. As she went to get a napkin, her cup of milk spilled. The cup itself had rolled across the table, causing its contents to fall on Phoebe's skirt. She yelped in surprise and glared at Charlotte.

"Watch what you're doing!" She said, anger in her voice. "You need to be careful! It's ruined! My skirt is ruined thanks to you!"

"I'm sorry!" Charlotte said, tears ready to spill. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!! It was an accident. I'm sorry!"

Phoebe just glared at Charlotte as she got up and left the room. Before leaving, she muttered, "She's nothing but trouble."

Paige had heard what Phoebe had said and glared after her. This had to stop now. Charlotte didn't deserve it and she didn't need it.

Meanwhile, Charlotte had scrambled down from her chair and started to clean up the mess. She was almost in tears by now. She was also shaking from fear. She didn't' know what was going to happen to her, but she knew it couldn't be good. She was going to be punished for sure. At least, that's what she thought.

Paige saw this and got up to stop her. She put a gentle hand on Charlotte's shoulder and found that she was shaking. She helped her up again and patted her shoulder reassuringly.

"It's okay," Paige assured her scared little sister. "Everything's okay now, Char. I promise. You're all right. There's no reason to be afraid. You're okay."

"I'm sorry!" Charlotte apologized again, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do it. I-It was an accident! I'm sorry!"

Paige nodded and gave Charlotte's shoulder another gentle pat.

"It's okay, sweetie. It's all right, really. You don't' have to be afraid of anyone hurting you here because we would NEVER do that. We love you, honey. I love you. Now, what do you say, why don't I clean this up and then I'll get you a fresh glass of chocolate milk. We're out of regular." She winked and

smiled at Charlotte.

Charlotte nodded and sat back down. She wasn't crying as much anymore. She was actually surprised that she hadn't gotten spanked or hit. Maybe living with her sister and these new people was going to be better after all. But as she thought about what had happened, fresh tears came to her eyes.

"Char?" Paige asked in concern, "Honey, what's the matter, sweetie?"

"Phoebe hates me!" Charlotte whispered. "She doesn't want me here."

Paige shook her head and gave Charlotte a much needed hug. She resigned on the spot to make Phoebe understand and treat Charlotte better. Phoebe couldn't' keep acting like this. it wasn't right.

Later that night, Paige had put Charlotte to bed and went to watch a movie with Piper. Phoebe was avoiding them for the time being.

As Paige settled next to Piper to watch "The Sound of Music", which was one of her favorite movies, she heard a clap of thunder and then the familiar sound of rain coming down. It

beat against the windows as the wind started to howl.

As lightning lit up the sky, another crash of thunder made Paige jump a little.

Piper smiled and hugged Paige tighter.

"It's okay, squirt. I have you. Still afraid of thunderstorms, huh?"

Paige shook her head, but Piper wasn't convinced.

"Na-no. That clap of thunder startled me. That's all."

Piper smirked and planted a loving kiss on Paige's cheek.

As she started stroking Paige's hair, Phoebe came downstairs. She didn't look at Paige or Piper as she went into the kitchen to make herself some tea.

Just then, Paige got a sudden urge to check on Charlotte.

Upon entering the room, the sight that met her eyes broke her heart.

Charlotte was awake and clutching Firefly as if there was no tomorrow. She was crying and shaking.

As Paige sat on the bed, she reached out and

started stroking Charlotte's hair.

Charlotte flinched a little, but then she looked up and instantly relaxed when she saw it was Paige.

"It's okay," Paige said gently. "Your big sister's right here. Everything's all right. Come here, Char-Char. Aw, come to Paige where you belong."

Charlotte obliged and dove into Paige's loving embrace. She clung on for all it was worth and cried into Paige's shoulder. She was just so scared and relieved to have someone to comfort her. She had never had this before.

As another clap of thunder rumbled, Paige got an idea, she started singing "My Favorite Things" and that seemed to calm Charlotte down.

As Paige started stroking Charlotte's hair, the door creaked open, making both her and Charlotte jump.

"I'm sorry," Phoebe said sincerely. "I didn't mean to scare you guys. Is Charlotte okay?" SHE sounded genuinely concerned.

"Am I hearing you right?" Paige asked. "Are you actually concerned for her?"

Phoebe laughed softly and nodded. She came over and sat on the bed. As she reached out a gentle hand to pat Charlotte's shoulder, Charlotte pushed herself deeper into Paige and let out a sob.

"Aw, it's okay, sweetie," Paige assured her. "Phoebe won't hurt you."

Charlotte shook her head.

"She doesn't' like me!" She sobbed. "She's mean to me!"

Phoebe's heart broke at Charlotte's words. It was true that she had been initially jealous and a little scared of having another little sister, but she was over it now. At least for the most part.

She frowned and got up.

"Where are you going?" Paige asked.

"Downstairs to talk to Piper. It's obvious I'm not wanted here."

Paige glared at Phoebe.

"Freeze. Sit your bottom down on Piper's bed. Now."

Phoebe hesitated, but then did as she was told.

"Why do you think you're not wanted here?" Paige asked her sister pointedly.

Phoebe shrugged.

"Charlotte doesn't' want me here."

"That's not true," Paige said. "And I wonder why. You've done nothing but treat her mean and badly since she's been here."

"Can you blame me?" Phoebe asked. "You didn't' give us any warning, Paige! You just sprung this on us like that." She snapped her fingers, making Charlotte jump. "How did you expect me to react?"

"A little more maturely would have been nice. Charlotte doesn't deserve to be treated badly. She doesn't deserve it at all. Especially after everything she's been through."

Phoebe nodded and her attitude softened a little.

"What do you mean?" SHE asked, giving Paige a confused look. "I mean I know being shuffled in and out of foster homes isn't' fun or healthy for a kid, but what else did she go through?"

Paige took a deep breath before telling Phoebe the details of Charlotte's past.

"Try abuse," Paige said.

Phoebe gasped and she looked toward the ground. She knew she had been wrong and right now she just felt horrible. She needed to set things right, but now wasn't the time to do it.

Charlotte was scared of the thunderstorm and Phoebe wanted to help her, but she knew Charlotte needed Paige right now. Not her.

"I'm… I'm…. Oh god, Paige, honey, I'm so…."

"Sorry?" Paige finished for her, glaring at her. "Well, I accept your apology guardedly, but you need to say you're sorry to Charlotte. Sooner rather than later."

Phoebe nodded and gave Paige a pat on her shoulder before leaving the room to get something. She knew exactly how to make things up to Charlotte. She only hoped and prayed that Charlotte would give her a second chance.

Phoebe returned a moment later with a photo album and a stuffed cat that she didn't want anymore. The cat was almost brand new, but she, Phoebe didn't need it anymore. It looked almost exactly like Sassy from the "Homeward Bound" movies

"Here you go, sweetie," Phoebe said. "Here's a new friend for you."

Charlotte looked toward Phoebe and smiled at the cat.

"It's pretty," she said. "Thank you."

"Aw, you're welcome." Phoebe said. "Now, do you want to look at pictures of your big sister when she was your age? I have some funny ones."

Paige glared at Phoebe, but this time, it was a playful glare.

"What pictures are they?" Paige asked suspiciously.

Phoebe giggled.

"oh, just certain ones that will get all three of us giggling." She pulled the album closer and opened it to reveal Paige's first birthday party. Her face was all covered in cake.

Charlotte giggled as did Paige.

"You were a messy baby!" Charlotte said, in the middle of laughing.

"Oh, you think so, huh?" Paige asked, bending down and tickling Charlotte's tummy, making her giggle harder. "Well, I know a certain little girl who did the exact same thing to the anniversary cake that Mom and Dad brought home."

Charlotte looked at Paige in disbelief.

"I did?"

"Yup. I didn't' get a picture, but believe me, it was funny."

"You two were really close, huh?" Phoebe asked.

Paige nodded.

"Yup. It broke my heart when DCFS took her away."

"But we're together again now," Charlotte said. "And nothing is going to separate us, right?"

Paige nodded as she kissed Charlotte's head. "Right."

"I think Darryl can help you keep that promise," Phoebe said. "He owes us one for the detective being a jerk at Prue's funeral."

Paige nodded and prayed that her big sister was watching over them.

About two days later, Paige got a phone call that chilled her blood. She was watching Charlotte and taking care of Melinda, when all of a sudden the phone rang.

"Hello?" Paige asked.

"Hi. Is this Paige Mathews?" A strange voice said on the other end.

"Yes, this is she." Paige said. "Who is this?"

"I'm Druscila Maddison. I believe you have something that belongs to me."

"Listen lady, if this is a prank call, I really don't have time for it, and besides, I have a friend in the police station."

"I assure you, my dear, this is not a prank call. It's anything but." The woman said.

Just then, Charlotte came into the room and climbed into Paige's lap. She laid her head against Paige's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Are you tired, Char?" Paige asked, unaware that the woman on the phone was listening to every word she was saying.

Charlotte shook her head.

"Paige, my ear hurts!"

"Okay. Let's see what we can do to help it feel better."

Paige knew she wasn't allowed to heal family members unless they had been attacked by a demon,

so she did the next best thing. She got Charlotte some Children's Tylenol and some Ginger Ale.

"Hello?" Came Druscila's voice. "Hello?!"

Paige got back on the phone and let Charlotte lay in her lap. She put on "My Little Pony: The Movie" and hoped Charlotte would like it. She hadn't seen this one yet, but Charlotte was too tired and in pain to pay attention all that much. She buried her face in Paige's shoulder and tried to sleep.

Meanwhile, Paige had gotten back on the phone.

"You were saying?"

"I was saying that you have something that belongs to me. And I want her back."

"Excuse me?" Paige asked, now feeling annoyed as well as scared. "Care to elaberate?"

"My foster daughter. A policeman came and took her away from me and my sources tell me she's with you. I want her back."

Paige was momentarily frozen with fear, but then she did the only thing she could think of, she hung up the phone and called, "LEO!!"

In a matter of seconds, Leo orbed in. Fortunately, Charlotte had fallen asleep.

"Paige? What's wrong? I was with another charge."

"We need to cloak Charlotte. Like you did Daisy, remember?"

Leo nodded.

"Why?"

"Don't ask questions, just do it."

Leo did so, but then he wanted answers.

"Why did you need me to do that?" He asked.

Paige explained all about Charlotte's foster mother and then the doorbell rang.

"This isn't a social call," Darryl said, frowning. 'I need to talk to you about your little sister."

"That seems to be the topic of the day." Paige said. "What's up? And try not to be too loud. She's sleeping. Poor Char has an earache."

Darryl nodded.

"Druscila contacted us. Now, I know you don't want Charlotte to see her again-"

"Damn right I don't!" Paige said angrily.

"Anyway," Darryl said, eyeing Paige, "like it or not, Druscila has one more visit before she is totally out of her life. Social services rules."

"A bunch of political crap." Paige said.

"I know, and I feel for you, I really do, but it has to be done."

Paige nodded as she felt a sudden urge to hold Charlotte and never let her go. She went over to the couch and picked her little sister up. She held her close and gave her a kiss.

After dinner that night, which Charlotte didn't eat much, Paige took her temperature and discovered she had a fever. She gave her some more Tylenol and Ginger Ale and then it was time for the talk. She had to tell her sooner or later, and Darryl was right that sooner was better.

"All right, sweetie, we need to talk," Paige said. "Come here, Char-Char. Come and sit with me."

Charlotte nodded and did so. She was beginning to get a little scared. She didn't know what was going on, but she could tell that something was wrong. Very wrong. Something in her heart was telling her that things weren't right. She hugged Firefly close and snuggled into Paige for a cuddle.

"Am I in trouble?" She asked.

Paige shook her head.

"No." She said. "Of course not."

"Paige, what's wrong?" Charlotte asked. "What's the matter?"

Paige sighed.

"Char, honey, I have to tell you something and it's not easy, but it has to be said. Don't' worry though, you're going to stay here with me and Piper and Phoebe. That's not what's the matter. Char-Char, your foster mother needs to see you for one last time."

Charlotte shook her head in disbelief as a thousand blurry images came to her mind's eye. She saw herself being locked in her bedroom and then beaten by her mother. She saw herself being pushed down by her foster brother and not being able to eat. She finally saw the last incident that happened which ended

with her brother locking her out of the house, forcing her to roam the streets until Darryl found her. When her mind returned to the present, she buried her face in Paige's shoulder and sobbed her heart out.

"Please don't let her see me!! Please!! I don't want to see her!! I don't want to see her!!" She continued to cry and Paige just held her and tried to calm her down. She knew Charlotte was scared. She wanted to reassure her that she was safe.

"Shh," Paige soothed. "Shh, shhh, shh, hush now, Char-Char. Hush now, it's okay, honey. It's all right. Your big sister's right here. It's okay. You're safe, sweetheart. You're okay. You're all right. Your big sister's here. Paige has you. You're okay. That's my girl. That's it." She continued to stroke

Charlotte's hair until the child cried herself to sleep.

The next day, Charlotte was very clingy with Paige. She didn't want to go anywhere without her and she didn't even want to spend time with Phoebe or Piper. She wanted Paige and only Paige.

Paige understood of course, but unfortunately, her boss, Mr. Cowan, did not.

"What is that child doing here?" He asked, trying to keep his voice low, so that he wouldn't scare Charlotte.

Paige blushed and explained to Mr. Cowan what was going on. After she was done explaining what had happened, Mr. Cowan was a little more understanding. He gave Charlotte a teddy bear and some crayons and a coloring book.

Charlotte said thank you for the crayons, but didn't touch the coloring book. She had her own "My Little Pony" coloring book that Paige had bought for her and she was more keen to color in that then anything else.

As Paige's lunch break rolled around, Paige took Charlotte to the cafeteria, but then they both decided that Taco Bell was better.

As they got into the car, Paige felt like they were being followed. She drove off in a hurry and tried to act like nothing was wrong. She put on a CD of "My Little Pony" music for them to listen to and even sang along to a few songs.

When they got to the restaurant, Paige ordered the food and then they sat down to eat. During lunch, Paige and Charlotte talked about everything except for her upcoming visit with Druscila.

"Thanks Paige," Charlotte said, after lunch was over.

"Aw, you're welcome, sweetie. It's no problem. Now, let's go back and finish the last hour I have and then we can go home and see Piper and Phoebe."

Charlotte nodded and smiled. She had drawn Phoebe and Piper a picture and she couldn't wait to give it to them.

Later that night, Paige felt someone crawl into bed beside her. She woke up to see that it was Charlotte.

"Char, what's the matter, sweetie?" Paige asked. "Are you okay?"

Charlotte shook her head as a few tears rolled down her face. She buried her face in Paige's shoulder and whimpered, "Paige, I'm scared! I don't want to

leave!! Please don't let her take me away from you! I don't want to-"

"Shh," Paige soothed as she took Charlotte into her lap and gave her a hug and kiss. "Shh, hush now, Char-Char. It's okay, sweetie. Paige has you now. You're safe and sound in your big sister's arms. It's okay. Everything's all right. Do you want to sleep with me, tonight?"

Charlotte nodded.

"Please?" She asked through her tears.

"Of course you can, sweetie. Come on. Let's get under the covers. You and Firefly need your sleep." Paige smiled as she patted Firefly's mane gently and helped her little sister get comfortable.

Paige was up most of the night with Charlotte, so come morning, she was very tired.

Charlotte was just plain scared and a little tired. She didn't want to eat breakfast, but Paige insisted she had to. She obeyed and ate a bowl of cereal.

After breakfast was over, Paige got Charlotte ready and then got herself ready to go. She didn't want to take Charlotte to see D had to. She had to do this, or else it could break her chances of adopting her.

Charlotte was so nervous that she threw up about five minutes before they were about to leave. Paige felt so bad for her, she just wanted to hold her and never let her go, but she knew that wasn't possible. She cleaned Charlotte up and gave her some Ginger Ale. After that, they were off.

When they got to the mall, Charlotte wrapped her arms around Paige's waist, silently begging to be held. Paige obliged and picked the scared child up. she knew how scared Charlotte was, and she wanted to help her feel better, but she didn't know what she could do.

"I want to go home!" Charlotte whimpered against Paige's shoulder as they waited for Druscila to arrive. 'I want to go home!"

"Shh," Paige soothed. "Hush now, sweetie. It's okay, Char-Char. We'll go home soon, I promise. You're safe and sound in your big sister's arms, you're okay. I Promise. Everything's going to be all right. I'm not going to let her hurt you."

Charlotte nodded, but she was still shaking pretty badly.

Paige just stood there, rubbing Charlotte's back and stroking her hair, hoping and praying that would calm her down. She was afraid that Charlotte was going to throw up again if she didn't calm down.

As Paige was getting Charlotte some more Ginger Ale, they heard a shrill voice cry out, "Oh my gosh!! Is that Mommy's little angel-bug?! I've missed you so much!! Come to Mommy!" Paige whirled around with a shaking Charlotte in her arms to find herself face-to-face with a woman she could only assume was

Druscila. And by the way Charlotte had her arms and legs wrapped around Paige, Paige could only think she was right in her assumption.

Paige tightened her grip on Charlotte as Druscila came closer. She put her hand on Charlotte's shoulder and the child just buried herself deeper into Paige. She didn't want anything to do with this evil woman again and she knew that Paige would protect her.

"Come here, my sweet cakes!" Druscila said sweetly.

"Put one hand on her and you'll be sorry," Paige said, protection in every word she spoke.

Druscila nodded as she glared at Paige.

"Look, I have an hour with her and I'm going to get my hour or I'll call the police."

Paige smirked.

"That will just make my day. Remember that friend I told you about, well, he would be happy to put you in jail for abusing my sister."

Druscila glared at Paige, but then her face turned a chalk white and she looked visibly shocked.

"This little brat is your…. She's your…."

"That's right. " Paige said. "We were separated after our parents were in a car accident and now I'm planning on adopting her. And I'm going to do it right. Unlike somebody else I know."

Druscila gave Paige a Look.

"Nevertheless," Druscila said, "why don't we go get something to eat and then we can get to know each other better." She had plastered the fake grin on her face again.

"I'm not hungry and Charlotte already ate. Why don't we go to a cafeteria and just sit and talk." Paige suggested, buying herself and Charlotte some time. This way Druscila would get what she wanted and she, Paige would be able to take Charlotte home faster.

Druscila agreed and before they knew it, they were in a restaurant talking and drinking fruit juice and coffee.

Druscila mostly bragged about her job and her husband's money load.

Paige just nodded and said, "That's nice."

About ten minutes later, Charlotte, who hadn't left the safety and security of Paige's lap, spoke up. "Paige, I have to go potty."

"Okay, Char. Come on. Up ya come." Paige picked Charlotte up and Druscila hung back, thank goodness. She had to stay in order to initiate her plan. She was going to get that little brat back if it was the last thing she did She just had to wait for the right moment.

When Paige and Charlotte entered the bathroom, Paige waited for Charlotte outside of the stall and then she went in and did her business. As she was flushing the toilet, Charlotte went to wash her hands. as she was drying them, she felt someone grab her from behind and pick her up. She didn't have to look to

see who it was. It was Druscila.

"Paige!" Charlotte called tearfully. "Paige!! Paige help! Please help me!! Paige!!" And to Druscila she begged, "Let me go!! Let me go!! Please!! I want my sister! Let me go!! Let me go!! Let me go!! I want my sister!! Please let me go!! Just let me go!!"

"Charlotte!" Paige exclaimed. She orbed out of the stall and to the parking lot where Druscila had thrown Charlotte in the back seat of her car. As she got in the front seat, she saw Paige running towards them. She turned the car on and made a mad dash for the express way. She just about made it, leaving

Paige stunned and very worried.

Druscila smiled to herself as she drove to her house that was an hour away. She had done it. She had successfully gotten

the little brat back and now she was going to make her pay for what she had done. Nobody ran away from Druscila Maddison and got away with it. That was for sure.

Charlotte was still crying in the back seat. She was holding Firefly close as they sped along the highway. Druscila put on one of Charlotte's old "My Little Pony" tapes, in hopes that that would keep her quiet. Her sister, Maria, had bought it for Charlotte. Druscila had never liked her children to play with

"My Little Pony", but she couldn't cross Maria, who allowed Charlotte to play with them whenever she was at her house.

The familiar and comforting music worked helped calm Charlotte a little bit, but she was still really scared. She didn't know what was going to happen and all the little girl wanted was to see her big sister again. She wanted Paige and now she might not ever see her again.

"I can't believe I let this happen!" Paige fumed as she paced the police station ten minutes later. She had orbed herself to Darryl straight away and now she was venting her anger and frustration to the walls of his office.

"Don't blame yourself, Paige," Darryl tried to comfort. "We'll get Charlotte back. I promise, I'll assign some officers to stake out her house and bring Charlotte back home to us. I promise. Everything will work out."

Paige nodded.

"How long will it take?" She asked. Then she added, "I was supposed to protect her. She was counting on me to protect her and I couldn't' even do that. I told her I would never let Druscila touch her and I let her take her! What kind of big sister am I?"

"Hey, hey, hey," Darryl said, taking Paige into his arms for a hug as she started crying, "you're a terrific big sister. And you're going to be yet again when we get Charlotte back, which we will. Okay? You just have to give us a day tops."

Paige nodded as she let out a sob and let the tears of guilt and fright fall. She just wanted Charlotte back. She wanted to know she was okay. She wanted to hold her again. She just wanted to hold her little sister again. She had lost her once, she wasn't going to lose her again. She couldn't lose her again.

there had to be a way to get Charlotte back safe and sound. There just had to be.

Meanwhile, Charlotte sat in her old room, holding Firefly and staring out of the window at the streets below. She was really scared and she wanted more than anything to be back with Paige. She wanted her big sister. She wanted to feel safe and the only place she felt safe was in Paige's arms. She wanted to go back home to the Manor. She wanted Paige.

As she sat there, she got an idea. She would have to wait until everyone was asleep, before she attempted her plan. She was going to escape out of the window just like she had seen Shirley Temple do in "Little Miss Broadway". All she needed was a rope and she would have it made. She tried to stop crying and

looked around for a rope. She spotted her old "My Little Pony" jump rope on the floor. She grabbed it and put it underneath her covers. Now all she had to do was wait. Once everyone was asleep, Charlotte would go back to where she really belonged. Back to Paige.

Dinner at the Maddisons' was a very quiet affair. Charlotte ate everything on her plate, which wasn't much. After she was done, Druscila told her to clean her plate and then go up to her room for the rest of the night.

"Yes ma'am," Charlotte said as she went to the sink. As she was washing the dish, her hands began to shake from fear. The dish slipped from her fingers and dropped to the floor.

"You clumsy little good-for-nothing brat!!" Druscila screeched. "Can't you do anything right!!" She slapped Charlotte across the face and pushed her to the ground.

Charlotte burst into tears and ran from the room. She had to get out of here now. But as she sat on her bed, she knew she would have to wait a little bit longer.

"Okay," Darryl said as he sat in the manor living room, "I'm going to take the first watch with Officer Moore and Officer will take the next shift. Don't worry, Paige," Darryl assured his scared friend who was hugging Fizzy like there was no tomorrow, "we'll bring your sister home safe and sound."

Paige nodded. She couldn't trust herself to speak. She knew she would burst into tears if she did.

Piper sensed her plight because she came over and wrapped her arms around Paige's shoulder, pulling her into a hug and encouraging her to cry.

"Shh," Piper soothed, "It's okay, Missy Paige. It's okay, honey. Your big sister's here. I have you. You're okay. That's my Missy Paige. That's my Missy Paige. That's it. It's okay, sweetie. It's all right."

Piper sat there, comforting Paige until her little sister cried herself into a restless sleep. Piper tucked the covers around her and Fizzy and then went to make Paige and herself some tea. She knew Paige would need it when she woke up. they all would need it. Piper also planned on calling Phoebe to let her know what had happened. She needed to be home in case they needed to vanquish Druscila, which according to Darryl, wouldn't be necessary. Even though Druscila was an evil person, she wasn't' a demon. This disappointed Piper and Paige, who wanted nothing more than to either blow her up or orb her to antartica.

When they had voiced their hopes for doing this, Melinda, who was just five years old exclaimed, "No!! Don't send her to Anarrca, Auntie Paige!"

"Why not, Lin?" Paige asked, using her nickname for Melinda.

"Cause she'll scare the animals!"

Paige had to laugh at this. Her niece always had a way of making her feel better.

Meanwhile, back at the Maddison home, Charlotte took a deep breath as she made the final check. Everyone had gone to sleep except for Josh, who was watching "X Men" in the den. But the down in the basement and Charlotte knew Josh would be occupied for a long time.

As she hugged Firefly close, Charlotte tied one end of the rope to the windowsill and hoisted herself out of the window. She turned around and grabbed the rope while hugging Firefly to her chest.

"Here goes nothing!" She whispered to herself and to Firefly. It was something Megan always said just before she was about to do something dangerous. As

Charlotte began to lower herself down, she felt her hand slipping a little. What made matters worse was, the rope wasn't long enough to reach the ground.

As she tried to climb up again, the rope slipped, causing Charlotte to fall twenty feet to the cold concrete below!

Fortunately, Darryl was on watch and he heard the commotion from his car. HE jumped out and ran to the source of the noise. When he reached the back of the house, the sight that met his eyes, broke his heart and chilled his bones. He found Charlotte laying on the ground, barely conscious. She was holding Firefly close and she looked like she had been beaten by Druscila.

Darryl quickly checked for a pulse and then began doing CPR on the little girl. As he got a pulse and Charlotte started breathing again, he radioed to Reggie to call 911 while he stayed with Charlotte to comfort her.

"You're going to be okay, sweetie," Darryl assured the scared little girl. "We're going to take you to the hospital and you're going to be all right." He held Charlotte's hand and stroked her hair gently.

when the ambulance arrived, a paramedic named Lucy, assessed Charlotte's condition and put an oxygen mask on her face to help her breathe. She put some warm blankets on the scared little girl and made sure she had her pony with her, then she started an IV and tried to rehydrate the child. She had to get

some fluids into her fast.

"We're coming in now!" Lucy called over the radio. "ETA eight minutes out!" With that, she stayed with Charlotte while the lead paramedic named Amy, drove to the hospital.

As Darryl watched the ambulance drive away, he knew what he had to do. As unpleasant as it was, he had to call the sisters, most importantly, Paige to let her know what had happened. And he had to do it fast. He knew Charlotte would recover much faster if her family was with her . Her real family. Especially Paige.

Paige was just waking up from her catnap when the telephone rang. She picked it up and said sleepily, "He-hello?"

"Paige, thank god you picked up," Darryl said. "We have a problem. There was an accident."

Paige's mind quickly unfogged and the first thought that came to it was Charlotte.

"What? I-is Charlotte okay? What happened? Did you get her out of that hell house yet? Is she okay?"

Darryl was silent, which caused Paige to believe the worst.

"Darryl?" Paige asked.

"Paige, there's been an accident. It's Charlotte. I don't' know what happened, but she's on her way to the hospital now. The paramedics were able to stabilize her, but she's in pretty bad shape. You should get down there right away. I sent Officer Moore down already so that he could arrest Druscila if she shows up, but I think you and your sisters need to get down there now."

Paige was momentarily numb with fear and anger. All she had heard was Charlotte was in an accident and she was at the hospital now.

"Thanks, Darryl," Paige said, her voice shaking a little. "I'll be right there."

"Okay. I'll be there in five minutes. I'll meet you in the ER waiting room."

"All right," Paige said. As she hung up the phone, she gathered up a few things that would make Charlotte feel a little better. She brought a tape recorder with her favorite "My Little Pony" song tape and Baby Lofty and Baby Ember in a bag.

After this was done, Paige took a bottle of water from the fridge and scribbled a note for her sisters so that they would know where she went. She then called Piper at the club and left her a message to meet her at the hospital. After the message was left, Paige orbed herself to the hospital, praying and hoping that Charlotte would be able to hold on till she got there. She had to be okay. She was strong. She just had to be okay.

"How is she?" Paige asked the moment she had reached the hospital waiting room. "Where's my sister?"

The woman at the triage counter looked up and gave Paige a concerned look. She was very sweet and she hated seeing families suffer.

"My name is Jeanie Boulet," the woman said. "May I help you?"

Paige nodded.

"Yes. My name is Paige Halliwell. My little sister, Charlotte, was brought in following an accident."

Jeanie nodded and pointed to the ER doors.

"The doctors are still working on her, but you're welcome to wait in the waiting room. I think your friend is already there."

Paige nodded as she went into the waiting room and was immediately engulfed in a hug of comfort by Darryl.

"They won't tell me anything!" Paige said in frustration. "I hate waiting!"

"You and me both." Darryl said. "Where are Piper and Phoebe."

"Piper's on her way and Phoebe is at work."

Darryl nodded and patted Paige's shoulder.

"Charlotte's going to be okay, I promise." Darryl nodded.

Paige nodded and tried her best to believe him.

Meanwhile in the ER Dr. Arielle Hartson was working on the little girl. She had been brought in after falling out of a window cuts and bruises on her as well. Suspecting abuse, Dr. Hartson ordered the necessary tests and told people what to do.

"Get a CBC, Chem 7, a abdominal CT and electro lytes."

"Do you want an ABG and an EKG?" A doctor named Samantha Kendall asked.

"It couldn't hurt," Arielle said. "We better cover everything. Let's get her better as soon as possible. I'm sure her family would appreciate it." as Arielle put another 500 Bolus of saline into Charlotte's IV, Charlotte started to stir. She opened her eyes and immediately started crying from fear. She didn't like hospitals and she didn't want to be here. She wanted Paige. She wanted to be back home.

"Hi, sweetie," Arielle said, putting a gentle hand on Charlotte's shoulder, "my name is Dr. Hartson, or you can call me Arielle if you like. Can you tell me your name, honey?"

Charlotte thought for a moment. She was always taught not to talk to strangers, but for some reason, this Arielle person seemed nice.

"Charlotte," Charlotte whispered.

"That's such a pretty name. Well, it's nice to meet you Charlotte. Do you have a last name?"

"Mathews," Charlotte said. "Charlotte Rebecca Mathews."

"Aw, that's such a pretty name," Arielle said. "Well, we're going to take very good care of you, Charlotte. I promise. Do you have a Mommy or a Daddy that we could call?"

Charlotte shook her head.

Arielle frowned.

"Okay. Do you have any older siblings?"

Charlotte nodded.

"Yes. I have an older sister named Paige." Charlotte then gave Arielle Paige's cell phone number and Arielle had her student, Arainia, call her. Unfortunately, Paige's cell phone was at home, so they got no answer.

Arielle didn't want to upset Charlotte further, so she kept that bit of news to herself. She knew they would find Paige sooner or later. As she finished assessing Charlotte's injuries, she discovered that Charlotte's spleen had been ruptured. This required immediate surgery. She had to get it out fast.

As Arielle thought of the best way to tell Charlotte this, Arainia came back in.

"I found the sister outside. She's with a police officer. I think he's a friend of the family. Should I bring them in?"

Arielle nodded, but told Arainia that the police officer, friend or not, would have to wait his turn. Charlotte needed her sister now and that was it.

Arainia nodded and went outside to get Paige.

"You can go in now," she said. "Dr. Hartson is prepping Charlotte for surgery, so you can only stay until we take her to the OR, but I know it would help Charlotte a lot. She's been asking for you ever since she woke up."

Paige nodded and took Fizzy, along with Ember out of her bag. She needed Fizzy's comfort, and she knew Charlotte would want to hold Ember. Ember was her favorite baby pony next to Baby Lofty.

As Paige followed Arainia to the room where Charlotte was, Darryl heard someone call his name.

"Darryl!! Darryl!! Darryl!!"

Darryl turned around to see Piper and Phoebe running towards him.

"Darryl, what the hell happened?" Piper asked, nervousness and anger on her face. "Is Paige okay?"

Darryl nodded.

"Yes. Physically anyway."

"What in the world is that supposed to mean?" Phoebe asked. "What happened to her?"

"Sit down," Darryl said, while holding out a cup of coffee to the both of them. "This is going to be a long story."

Piper and Phoebe took the coffee that Darryl was handing them, but it didn't make things any easier. They were still very worried about Paige and they wanted answers now. What if she had been badly hurt? What if she had been in a car accident or worse? They wanted to know that she was okay and only then, could they begin to feel better. Not before.

Meanwhile, Paige was sitting next to Charlotte's bed, trying to keep her calm.

"It's okay," Paige soothed as she stroked Charlotte's hair and tried to keep her calm. "Your big sister's here now. It's going to be all right."

"Paige, I'm scared!" Charlotte said, tears in her brown eyes. "I want to go home! I don't like it here!"

"I know you do, honey, I know, but you're going to be okay. We'll go home soon. I promise."

"I'm sorry," Charlotte said, before bursting into tears again.

Paige shook her head and patted Charlotte's shoulder.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Paige assured her. "Nothing. You felt trapped and you needed to get out of there. Now, going out of a window wasn't the best way to do it, I'll give you that, but it wasn't your fault." Paige smiled down at her little sister and then said, "We all play Tarzan at one point in our lives."

Charlotte nodded and a small smile spread across her face.

Paige then started singing "There's Always Another Rainbow", hoping that would calm Charlotte down. It did, until it was time for her to go to surgery.

She didn't want to leave Paige and Paige had made the mistake of letting her lay in her lap.

As the nurse started to get impatient, Paige got an idea. She placed her Rainbow of Light locket around Charlotte's neck, knowing that it would protect her.

This seemed to calm Charlotte down, but she was still crying and calling Paige's name as the nurse carried her away.

After Charlotte was gone, Paige sank to the floor and let the tears fall. She just wanted to hold Charlotte again. She just wanted her to be okay. She just wanted her little sister to be okay. If anything happened to Charlotte, Paige would never forgive herself. As it was, Paige felt guilty for letting Druscila

abduct Charlotte in the first place and now this had happened. This just added to Paige's guilt. She just prayed and hoped that Charlotte would make it and survive. She couldn't lose her again. She just couldn't.

Meanwhile, Darryl was still filling Piper and Phoebe in on what had happened.

The sisters had come in frantic, thinking that Paige had been concerned for Charlotte's well being after they found out what had really happened, but they didn't want Paige hurt either.

"Why would you think it was Paige?" Darryl asked. "She left you a note, didn't she?"

Piper nodded.

"Yeah, but Kit must have gotten it because all it said when we found it was accident, hospital, Paige, so we assumed that Paige looked towards the door where Paige and Charlotte were and asked, "Is Charlotte going to be okay?"

Darryl nodded and gave Piper and Phoebe a much needed hug.

"Yes, she's going to be fine."

Just then, Reggie came into the waiting room.

"Darryl, man, we have a problem," Reggie said.

"What's goin' on?" Darryl asked, ready for anything.

"Well, we sort of have a stolen vehicle on our hands. Apparently some woman came and took it. I think it was the same woman who hurt that little girl of Paige's. How is she anyway?"

"She's stable for now," Darryl said.

Reggie nodded.

"Good. I'm glad."

Just then, Druscila came into the hospital. She was enraged at Charlotte for escaping, but for now, she had to play the role the only way she was going to get Charlotte back.

As she reached the counter, Jeanie, who had been briefed on her description, told Jerry, the desk clerk, to call the police. Fortunately for Jeanie, Reggie, her husband, was there in a flash.

"But my baby's hurt!" Druscila wailed as Reggie hand cuffed her and took her out to the car. "She needs me!"

"You need to shut your trap!" Reggie said. "Before I do it for you."

This got Druscila to be quiet and she went without fuss.

Darryl sighed with relief as he went back inside to tell the sisters the good news. As he reached the doors to the waiting room, he found Piper comforting a crying Paige while Phoebe tried to explain to Elise why she couldn't come to work.

"I know that Jason had signed me up to do TV shows today, but I can't. My niece is hurt. Yes I'm aware of that. No, it's not Melinda. No, I don't' have another nephew from Disneyland. I know it's weird, but just trust me."

"No," Elise said, "just get back here or you're fired!" With that, she hung up the phone, leaving Phoebe really pissed off.

"Boss trouble?" Piper asked as she cradled a now sleeping Paige.

Phoebe nodded.

"More or less. I read her and she was pissed."

"More so than when I discovered that the phone bill was 464 dollars this month?"

Phoebe blushed.

"Oh, sorry. Jason moved around a lot." She then eyed the cup in Piper's hand. "You're going to throw that at me, aren't you?"

Piper shook her head.

"No. Of course not. I'm just going to deal with this calmly until we get home. Then you're going to get it."

Phoebe nodded.

"You're not happy, are you?"

"Mary Poppins wouldn't be happy with the phone bill," Piper quipped, a small smile spreading across her face.

Phoebe nodded and prayed that Piper wouldn't' be too hard on her.

About an hour later, a nurse by the name of Loretta, came out to tell the sisters that Charlotte was awake and asking for Paige.

"She did really well," Loretta said. "She was a real trooper."

Paige nodded and brimmed with pride inside for her little sister. She knew Charlotte would feel better once she, Paige was there with her, but it was nice to know that she was doing all right.

"Can we see her?" Paige asked getting up and taking the hand of comfort Piper offered.

"Of course. Follow me."

Piper and Paige followed the nurse while Phoebe lagged behind. She didn't' want to be around Piper right now. She knew Piper was upset with her and she didn't want to anger her further.

When they entered the room, Paige rushed to Charlotte's bedside and took her little sister's hand gently.

"It's okay," she assured her little sister. "Everything's okay now. Your big sister's right here. Paige is here, honey. You're all right. You're okay."

"My tummy hurts!" Charlotte whimpered as she gazed into Paige's kind brown eyes.

"Shh," Paige soothed gently. "It's okay, honey. You'll feel better soon, Char, I promise. Do you want some apple juice?"

Charlotte nodded and tried to sit up, but Loretta told her to lay back down. She raised the pillow a little so that Charlotte could properly. The juice stayed where it was supposed to, but the Ginger Ale didn't.

This was a mystery to Paige, but then she realized that that was just one more thing she and her little sister had in common. She, Paige, couldn't handle Ginger Ale after surgery either.

"It's okay," Piper soothed, putting her hand on Charlotte's shoulder. "You're going to be okay, sweetie. I promise. We'll get you home with us soon."

Charlotte nodded as she looked hopefully up at Paige. She wanted to lay in Paige's lap, but she knew it probably wouldn't be possible.

Two days later, Paige brought Charlotte home. She was once again the happy, friendly, sweet little girl that Paige had known so many years before, but she was more clingy with Paige for the first few days, which was understandable. The weird thing was, Charlotte was also closer with Phoebe, which surprised everyone.

As Phoebe was watching Charlotte the Wednesday after Paige had brought her home, they were watching" My Little Pony: a sudden, it was interrupted for a special news report.

"I don't' like the news," Charlotte told Phoebe as she started coloring in her scribble pad. "it's boring."

"You and me both, kiddo," Phoebe said. "You and me both." But as Phoebe turned to change the channel, she got the sudden thirst for some iced tea.

After making sure that Charlotte would be okay alone, she went into the kitchen to get her drink.

When she came back, she found Charlotte curled up on the couch, her knees up to her chest. She was hugging Ember close and it looked like she had been scared by something.

"Charlotte, honey, what's the matter, honey? Come here. Come to Phoebe." But as she reached out to take the little girl into her arms, Charlotte backed away, not taking her eyes off the TV screen.

Phoebe frowned and looked to the screen too. Maybe it would give her some answers as to what had scared Charlotte so badly.

As Phoebe continued to search for the answer, a newsman came on.

"Now for today's top story. An alleged child abuser and long time offender by the name of Druscila Maddison, also known as Carrie Smart, also known as Mrs. Robyn Ashton, has escaped from prison. Nobody knows where she is planning on

going or what her motive was. All they know is she is missing and highly dangerous." They then showed a picture of her and it was this, that caused Charlotte to launch herself at Phoebe and cling on for all it was worth. She buried her face in Phoebe's shoulder and kept saying she wanted Paige.

Phoebe just rubbed Charlotte's back and tried to calm her down. She didn't know what else to do. Paige was on assignment with Prue.

Phoebe didn't even know if she could be bothered. She didn't even know where she was. She was working with Prue, who had become a whitelighter.

As Charlotte became more and more distressed, Phoebe turned off the TV and tried to help her relax while putting on some her in the rocking chair that was in Paige and Piper's room. This seemed to calm her down and she even fell asleep, but Phoebe knew it wouldn't last for long.

About an hour later, Charlotte woke up crying and screaming from a nightmare. Phoebe tried to comfort her, but all Charlotte wanted was her big sister.

"Okay," Phoebe said, "shh, it's okay, sweetie. We'll call Paige now. It's okay. That's a girl. It's all right. Good girl. You're okay. You're all right. That's it, sweetie." She continued to talk to Charlotte softly until the child had calmed down a little. Then she said under her breath, "Damn the Elders. Paige! Paige!!"

In a matter of minutes, Paige had orbed in. When Charlotte saw her, she jumped off Phoebe's lap and wrapped her arms and legs around Paige's waist.

Paige picked her up and hugged her close, planting a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Okay, what happened? Did you let her watch "Harry Potter" again before her nap?"

Phoebe shook her head as she tried to think of the best way to tell Paige what had happened. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but she had to say it.

"I wish it was that," Phoebe said, knowing that would have been a lot easier to say, "but it isn't. It's much worse than that. Sit down and make yourself comfortable."

Paige shook her head, but sat down anyway.

"Tell me what happened," she said. "And tell me now."

Phoebe nodded.

"We were watching "My Little Pony" when the news came on and… and…. Well…."

"Phoebe Marie!" Paige said, knowing that would get Phoebe to spill her guts.

"Okay, okay! Druscila broke out of prison. There I said it. Are you happy now?"

Paige shook her head in disbelief. Now wonder Charlotte was so scared and clingy toward her. As Paige sat there, trying to get Charlotte back to sleep, she had a sudden brain storm.

"Get Leo, Piper and Lin. We're going on a trip."

"Where?" Phoebe asked.

"We're going somewhere I know we'll be safe."

"Which is…..?" Phoebe asked, although she thought she already knew.

"We're going to my cabin in the woods."

"Great," Phoebe said sarcastically. "The day after I get a new outfit, I get it ruined by bugs."

Paige glared at her, although she knew she was kidding.

After Phoebe had called Piper and told her what was going on, Piper got Melinda from kindergarten and then they were off. They told Chris and Leo their plan

Although Chris wasn't a nature person, he thought it was a good idea. At least for now.

Meanwhile, a young man who was dressed in a suit of taylor silk sat at a desk, looking over some cases that he hadn't yet worked that he needed to get home soon. He needed to be with his new wife. Since Phoebe had dumped him and she and her sisters tried to vanquish him, he had no interest in them anymore. He had started a new life for himself and he was proud of it. He didn't even want to kill them anymore. That had been old news.

Now, he just wanted to concentrate on his new life and job. He was even expecting a daughter in mid May.

As the man took a pen from his holder and scribbled his signature on an adoption form, he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," he said.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Drusila walked in. she had decided to keep that name because she liked it and it was the only way to fit into the Human world. As she stepped through the office threshold, she smiled. Yes, this was the perfect man to help her. He was cunning, power seeking and according to her sources, very handsome.

"May I help you?" The man asked, looking up from his paperwork.

"Yes you may," Druscila said. "I need your help to kill the Charmed Ones and get back what they took from me."

"I'm not interested in killing the Charmed Ones," the man replied. "I'm done with them. I have a new life now."

"How about if I can offer you power? More power than you can ever dream of?"

"Still not interested," the man said.

"Well, what if I can grantee you full access to the Book of Shadows once the job is done?"

The man looked up into the brown eyes of his visitor and shook his head.

"Nobody can touch that book. It's protected by good magic."

"But I can fix that," Druscila said. "I have the power to fix it so that we can use it for our own personal gain."

The man thought about this and then said, "No thanks. Maybe some other time."

Druscila sighed in frustration. She then got an idea.

"Well, I guess you're not interested in getting Phoebe back."

The man looked at her and glared.

"You're right. I'm not. I have a wife and I'm expecting a child. I couldn't' be happier."

Druscila growled in frustration. In one last attempt to gain this man's cooperation, she made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

"What if I could offer you a trip into the future? A chance to see what your future would look like? Your little girl's life?"

The man held the woman's gaze for a long time.

"Can you really do that?"

"Cross my heart," she said. "I have the power to do anything."

The man regarded her for a moment and then he stood up, held out his hand and said, "Then, lady, you have a deal. Cole Turner is at your service."

Druscila smiled.

"Great. Now, let's see what your future holds, shall we?" She waved her hand over Cole and he was instantly whisked in green smoke to a few years from the present. He saw his daughter, about the age of two, running around the house, playing with her older sister. He didn't know how he had gotten an older daughter, but apparently, they must have adopted one.

As he gazed around, he heard his wife, Catrina, say, "Alice, come here, honey."

Cole brimmed with pride at this. His little girl's name was Alice. He liked that name.

As he explored more and more, he was suddenly engulfed in green orbs again and was back in the present. He frowned.

"That was it?" He asked.

Druscila nodded.

"For now." She said. "After you help me, I'll show you more."

Cole nodded and showed Druscila his secret passage into the Manor. They would use it later, right now, it was planning time. They went back to Cole's office to do some serious brain storming and Cole ordered them food. It was going to be a long night and they needed all the nourishment they could get. After

all, they were going up against the infamous Charmed Ones, which required a lot of energy.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Piper questioned as she watched Matt drive them to the spot that Paige had instructed.

"Ae," Matt replied. "I'm sure of it. Peike hasn't been wrong yet, so I don't doubt that this time will be any different."

"Why don't you let me drive?" Piper asked. "I drive well when I'm stressed."

Paige shook her head.

"No. That's okay. Remember, we actually want to survive this trip." She smiled as Piper swatted her hand playfully.

"How's Charlotte doing?" Phoebe asked.

Paige looked down to see that her little sister was fast asleep.

"Fine. She's sleeping now. I think the whole day wore her out."

Phoebe nodded as she frowned.

"I am such a bad baby sitter."

"You are not!" Paige said. "You are a great baby-sitter. It's not your fault. And it's not Darryl's fault either."

"Yes it is!" Piper said.

"No it's not," Paige said. "Why are you so hell bent on blaming him, Pipe?"

"Because he let her go free, squirt." Piper replied. "He may not have done it literally, but he sure as hell didn't find her the night she escaped."

"Uh, Piper?" Phoebe asked.

"What?!" Piper asked angrily.

"I think you just lost your wedding ring."

Piper blinked a few times and then looked down at her fingers. She glared at Phoebe when she realized that she was kidding.

"Made you look!" Phoebe said. "And I also got you to laugh. You need to stop being so hard on yourself and Darryl."

Just then, they heard a funny sound coming from the car. It sounded like it was hissing.

"What's going on?" Paige asked.

"Maybe Kit climbed into the carburetor again." Phoebe guessed.

"This is no time for jokes," Paige said, "We're in the middle of nowhere and we could be attacked at any moment." Just as she said that, a speeding arrow hit the window. Paige whirled around to see a few demons on what looked to be flying horses coming towards them. They were aiming their arrows at the car and looked really fierce. They also looked ready to fight.

"Orb us out of here now!" Piper ordered Leo, who obeyed immediately. He swept Melinda up in his arms and took Piper's hand.

"Hey!" Matt said. "What about us?"

"Fight with Piper later, honey." Paige said, taking his hand and cradling a now half awake Charlotte in her arms, while Matt scooped up Savannah. "Now it's time to orb us out of here." As she did this, the car blew up.

When they reached the cabin, they found out quickly that they weren't alone. Piper was fending off a demon who looked like it was half dead, while Phoebe had managed to flip a few over and was now vanquishing them.

"Take Charlotte!" Paige ordered Matt. "Take her into the cabin with Sav and Melinda."

"Gotcha," Matt said, while reassuring the scared little girl that she was going to be okay. After Matt left, Paige called, "Arrow! Crossbow!"

Piper gasped when she realized what Paige was doing.

"Paige!! NO!!"

But it was too late. Paige had already called for it. In a matter of minutes, the cross bow and arrow were in her hands.

As she went to fling it at the demon, he used his telekinetic power to shoot one at her. Paige orbed out of the way just in time, but she was too late to miss the one that came at her

from the crossbow she was holding.

As she felt the poison enter her system, she fainted.

Phoebe ran to her and checked for a pulse. There was a faint one. She managed to get Paige into the cabin.

Fortunately, Charlotte was sleeping so she didn't see her sister's distress.

"What happened?" Matt asked as he helped Phoebe carry Paige over to the couch.

"We got attacked by some darklighters on horses. Go figure. We didn't even know it until Piper pointed it out, but by then it was too late."

"Is she…?" Matt asked, unable to say the last word.

Phoebe shook her head.

"No. She's still alive, but we need to get Leo to heal her."

Just then, Piper came in, carrying Leo.

"Too late on that one," Piper said. "They got Leo too."

"Oh my god," Phoebe said. "Now what are we going to do?"

"I could help Daddy," a tiny voice spoke up to Piper's left. "Please, Auntie Phoebe let me help."

Piper looked down to see her daughter, standing in front of her. She was crying, but her arms were across her chest and she had the Halliwell look about her. She was determined to help.

Piper hesitated for a moment, but then said, "It wouldn't hurt."

"I could help too!" Savannah said, coming over to stand next to her cousin. "Please, I want to help Mommy and Uncle Leo. I Know I can do it."

Piper looked at her four year old daughter and seven year old niece. She knew they did possess the power, but did they possess the patience and concentration needed to save their parents?

"Let them try, Piper," Leo said, his voice coming in gasps. "Mel might be able to heal me and then I can heal Paige."

Piper nodded and allowed her niece and daughter to try their hand at it.

Melinda got on Leo's right and placed her hand across his chest, while Savannah got on his left and placed her hand over the wound, not even flinching at the way it felt.

"Now concentrate, sweetie," Piper told Melinda. "Concentrate and focus. Focus on Daddy. Focus on how much you love him and want him to get better. You too, Savannah. Focus on how much you love Uncle Leo."

Savannah nodded just as Matt came over to encourage her.

"You can do it, Kawanaha, you can do it. Daddy's right here. You can do it."

Savannah nodded and concentrated her hardest. She thought of nothing but Leo and all of a sudden, a pink glow came from her hands. it spread over Leo as did Melinda's.

"We did it!!" Melinda cheered as Leo sat up and kissed both his daughter and niece. "We made Daddy better Mommy!! We did it!!"

"Yes you did!" Leo agreed. "Good job you two. Watch out evil beings. We have two serious little witches on our hands."

Melinda smiled as she hugged her father tightly. Savannah hugged Leo too, but then looked at her father and asked, "Can I heal Mommy, Daddy, o'lu'ulu?"

Matt nodded.

"I don't see why not. Come on. You too Melanaka, you can help too."

Melinda nodded. But this time, as they put their hands over Paige's wound, it didn't work. They tried harder than hard, but it still didn't heal.

After three attempts, Melinda glared out the window while Savannah burst into tears of defeat and fear.

Matt picked her up, assuring her that she had done her best and that Paige would be okay.

"Why didn't it work?" Leo asked after he tried his hand and nothing happened.

"I'm not sure," Piper said, her face registering anger as well as worry. "But I'd sure as hell like to find out."

"Good work, my lovely warriors," Druscila said, giving each of them a banana. "You earned it. And you too, my little primate." She gave the monkey who looked like a chimp two bananas. "That's your dinner. Don't waste it."

The monkey took the fruit happily.

"What now?" Cole asked.

"Well, we wait to see what happens next. If the poison works the way I think it will, that witch is going to have one hell of a ride."

"What exactly will it do? And what if the whitelighter discovers the cure?"

"He won't. And neither will the little ones. They are only children."

Cole nodded, but he had a look of disbelief on his face.

"You don't know what the Charmed Ones' children are capable of." He told Druscila. "They can do anything if they put their minds to it and sometimes they can even achieve the impossible"

Druscila nodded and smiled evilly.

"Well, let's hope that they don't."

"Savannah?" Came a tiny voice from the doorway. "Savannah, wake up. Please wake up!"

Savannah jerked awake to see Charlotte and Melinda sitting on either side of her.

"Huh?" She asked. "What's going on?" Chris was there too.

"Come with us," Melinda said.

"We need to do some reading," Charlotte told her cousin. "Follow Chris."

"Wait a minute," Chris said, realizing where Charlotte was going with this. "There is no Chris in your plan. I'm not doing anything to get me in trouble. I do that enough on my own without you rugrats helping."

Charlotte shook her head.

"I want my sister to get better." Then she looked toward Savannah and added, "Savannah needs her Mommy. Please?"

Chris tried to avoid Charlotte and Savannah's puppy dog eyes, but he couldn't resist. They were so cute at this age.

"Okay. Let's go."

"YES!!" Charlotte cheered, a little too loudly.

"Shh!" Chris said. "You want my Mom and Dad to hear you?"

Charlotte shook her head and led the way to where the Book of Shadows was. Chris took the book out of Piper's bag and began to search through it. as they got to the part about darklighters and poison, Chris started to read.

"A very dangerous and sometimes fatal poison that darklighters use is the poison of Makna. This poison seeps through the body, spreading it's toxin's throughout the system. It first makes the witch/whitelighter very weak and unable to eat, then it makes them spike a fever and finally kills them."

At the sound of the word, "kill", Charlotte gasped and Savannah almost fell off her chair.

"What's the cure already?" Melinda asked, rather impatiently.

Chris laughed at his little sister.

"Ya know something, Min, you are so much like Mom sometimes." He ruffled Melinda's hair and gave her a kiss.

Melinda smiled. She liked it when Chris used his nickname for her. He was the only one who called her Min.

"Now to answer your question, min, the cure that Aunt Paige needs is…." He stared at it for about a minute before Savannah said, "What is it?!"

Chris came out of his trance and gazed down at the little girl.

"Oh, sorry, kiddo. The thing that can cure Aunt Paige, is the blood of an older sister."

"Mommy won't do it!" Melinda said at once. "She's ascared of blood!"

Chris nodded. He knew all too well how scared and squeamish Piper was at the sight of blood. But as he looked down at the fine print below the cure, he smiled.

"It looks like she won't have to."

"Why?" Charlotte asked, puzzled.

Chris gave her a Look. He then turned to Melinda and Savannah with a smile on his face.

"Care to meet your Aunt Prue?"

Savannah gasped and Charlotte didn't look to sure of herself. "Whose Aunt Prue?"

"She's awesome!" Savannah said. "She's so cool. She' lets you do anything!"

Chris frowned.

"Don't you think I'm a good baby-sitter?" He asked.

"Yes," Savannah said, while giggling.

"Now, the only thing is, you three need to keep this a secret from Mom and Dad. You can't tell them anything, okay? They can't know until it's the right time."

"Why not?" Melinda asked.

"Because, they just can't. So can I trust you three to keep it a secret?"

Melinda and Charlotte nodded as did Savannah.

"Good. Now, Min, keep an eye on Savannah, we all know she has a tendency to blab."

Savannah glared at Chris.

"We can't tell them," Charlotte repeated.

"Can't tell us what?" Leo asked as he came into the room.

"What are you guys doing awake? It's really late." HE scooped Melinda up and patted Charlotte's

shoulder.

The siblings looked at each other and then at Leo.

"We just needed to get something to drink," Charlotte said, eyeing the two others.

"Yeah," Melinda chimed in. "WE were thirwsty."

"Well, let's see what we can do about that, huh?" Leo said as he carried Melinda to the kitchen with Savannah and Charlotte following close behind. When they got there and Leo had gotten everyone their drinks, he asked, "Where's Chris?"

Melinda shrugged.

"He's helping someone."

"Yeah," Charlotte said. "He's helping someone whose in trouble."

Leo nodded. Somehow, he didn't believe them. He knew the girls wouldn't like unless it was an emergency. Melinda and Savannah hardly did it. And when they did, it was usually in order to protect or help someone.

"You want me to do WHAT?" Prue Halliwell asked as she stared at her nephew in disbelief.

"It's the only way to cure Aunt Paige," Chris told his aunt. "Mom won't do it and Aunt Paige needs someone."

"What about Phoebe?" Prue asked.

"Aunt Phoebe's the wrong match." Chris said. "Paige is A positive and Phoebe is O negative."

Prue nodded and sighed.

"Okay. I'll do it on one condition."

Chris looked warily at his aunt.

"What's that?" He asked.

"You give me the hug and kiss you didn't give me when you first came up here just now."

Chris smiled and did so. Then they were off.

When they arrived at the cabin, a round robin of hugs and kisses went around for Piper, Leo, Savannah and Melinda. But Charlotte hung back. She didn't know who this Prue was and even though she seemed nice, Charlotte still wasn't sure.

"Come on!" Savannah encouraged. "Aunt Prue is really nice."

Charlotte shook her head and stuck close to Piper.

After the greetings were done, Prue told Piper why she was there. Once she had explained the reason for her visit, all eyes fell upon Chris.

"I couldn't tell you guys because I didn't want you to stop me and besides, it was Min and Savannah and Char who figured out the Book of Shadows held the answer. I was just their reader."

Piper nodded and eyed her eldest son with something of suspicion and pride. She liked that Chris had taken charge, but she didn't like the fact that he hadn't come to her first. She hoped and prayed that Melinda wouldn't inherit her brother's stubbornness.

"Well," Prue said, looking at Piper, "shall I, sweet girl?"

Piper nodded and smiled, she liked her nickname from Prue.

As Chris stuck Prue's finger, Piper looked the other way. she couldn't stand blood, not even a little bit of it.

After the blood was drawn, Matt, who was a doctor, did the actual transfusion part of it, with Piper burying her face in Prue's shoulder, so that she wouldn't see it.

after the transfusion was done, Paige opened her eyes and started coming to. As she tried to sit up, Prue pushed her back down.

"You need to rest now, sweetie. Everything's okay."

Paige blinked a couple of times. She couldn't be seeing what she thought she was seeing. Prue couldn't be there. Unless she was….

"Am I dead?" Paige asked.

"Thankfully not," Piper said, putting an arm on Paige's shoulder. "You're where you belong, squirt. Safe and sound with us."

"Then why is Prue…"

"She saved you!" Savannah said, planting a kiss on her mother's cheek. "Auntie Prue saved you Mommy. Just like we saved Uncle Leo."

Paige smiled as she took her daughter into her lap.

"How much did I miss?" Paige asked.

"Oh, a lot," Phoebe said, giving Paige a kiss. "But the good news is, you woke up in time to vanquish a really bad ass demon."

At the mention of that, Paige's eyes darted around the room. She was looking for someone who wasn't there.

"Where's Charlotte?" She asked, worriedly.

"I'm right here," Charlotte said, coming over and sitting on Paige's lap. "I'm glad you're feeling better. Did you have a nice nap?"

Paige nodded and hugged her little sister close as she gave her a kiss.

Just then, Leo orbed in. He looked worried.

"Honey, what is it?" Piper asked, scooping Melinda up in her arms and handing her to Chris.

"I have one word for you." Leo said, eyeing Phoebe.

"What?" Phoebe asked.

"Cole."

"What? How? Who? What?!" Phoebe asked, a little faint.

"Couldn't have said it better myself.," Piper said. "You took the words right out of my mouth, Phoebs."

"We need to vanquish him," Phoebe said when she had regained her senses. "And fast. He's dangerous. No telling what he co "And that's not the only thing," Leo said. "He's teamed up with somebody."

"Who?" Paige and Phoebe asked in unison.

"Me!" Druscila said, appearing before them. "And I want what I came for. No more games and no more playing around."

"Min!" Chris said, "Orb Charlotte out of here!! Now!!"

Melinda did so and Druscila screeched in anger.

"You little brat!" She said, glaring at Chris. "You'll pay for that." She hurled an energy ball at Chris, which he ducked, but it hit Piper.

"Mom!" Chris shouted as Piper flew across the room and landed against a wall.

"I've got her!" Leo said, rushing over and healing Piper.

"Not so fast!" Druscila said, "I have a little surprise for you." She aimed another crossbow at Leo, which sent not one, but three arrows at him.

Piper tried to get in front of him, but it was too late. Leo fainted.

"You're going to wish you hadn't done that." Paige threatened. "We're gonna vanquish you and vanquish you good. And you better believe I'll enjoy every minute of it."

"That's what you think," Druscila said. "I have something special for you." She pointed her arm at Paige and a swirl of wind engulfed her. She tried to orb back, but couldn't. something had a strong hold on her.

"Paige!!" Piper called out. "Okay," she said angrily. "You've gone too far. Now, you've pissed off her sister and that isn't good! Now I have a surprise for you." Piper flicked out her hands as if to blow Druscila up, but it didn't touch her. "What the hell?" Piper asked, surprised by her own defeat.

Druscila smirked as she retrieved a necklace from her shirt.

"This protects me against your magic," she said. "A little trinket I got from my friend."

"Damn it!" Piper said in frustration.

"Well," Prue said, "it might protect you from my sister's magic, but what about mine?" With that, she threw Druscila against the wall telekinetically and watched her fall to the ground. She then called, "Locket! Crossbow!" In a matter of minutes, the locket orbed into her hand and the crossbow was sent to the trash. "Good job, if I do say so myself." She smiled with pride as Piper hugged her. "Now it's time to get Paige back."

"Now we get Paige back," Piper echoed, taking Prue's hand as her older sister orbed her to wherever Paige was being kept.

"I thought you were dead!" Paige said as Cole aimed another energy ball at her.

"Surprise!" Cole said as he threw another energy ball at her.

"When my sisters find out what you did, they will so vanquish your sorry ass." Paige said as she felt pain shoot up her upper body.

"Well, I was hoping to see them." Cole said as he threw yet another energy ball at her. "I have a little surprise for them too."

"Well, we have one for you too!" Prue declared as she orbed in and threw Cole against the wall. "Surprise! Long time no see! Did you miss me?!"

"Not especially." Cole replied before grunting in pain.

Piper ran for Paige who was badly beaten. She had blood coming from a cut on her shoulder and her arm was broken.

"You're going to be okay," Piper said as she untied her little sister and hugged her close. "You're going to be all right. I promise. Come on." She took Paige over to Prue, who healed her instantly. The only thing that didn't heal was her right arm. For that, they would have to go to the hospital. Ava would

help her.

"Where's….?" Paige asked, her breath labored a little from losing so much blood so fast.

"Dead," Prue said. "We had a little fun with her. She's gone. Now, we just have to heal Leo and get you to Ava and then we'll be good."

Paige nodded. She was relieved to hear that. After all the excitement they had been through, the youngest sister was ready to get back to her normal life. Whatever normal was for them.

When they got back to the cabin, Prue healed Leo. Then they all spent the night talking and roasting marshmallows on the fire.

Charlotte was happy and relieved to have her older sister back as was Savannah to have her Mommy back. They both stuck close to Paige and wouldn't let her out of their sight. Matt was also grateful that his Peike was okay.

About three days later, everything was back to normal or as normal as things were around the Halliwell Manor. The kids were happy again and Charlotte felt safe for the first time since she had found Paige again.

Prue had promised to visit more often and Phoebe had gotten her job back thanks to Jason.

The only problem was Piper. For some reason, Piper was a little distant with Paige and she wasn't acting the same way towards Chris. It seemed like she was feeling guilty for letting Paige get captured and hurt.

Paige resigned to talking to Piper the next day, but as she went to her room, she discovered she wasn't there. Where had she gone?

As Paige closed her eyes, she sensed Piper's location and orbed herself there immediately. She found Piper at P3. she was unconscious. She quickly healed her, but then saw an empty

liquor bottle near her. She threw it away and sternly asked Piper what she was doing. It looked like the bottle had cut her too.

"Nothing," Piper said. "You shouldn't have healed me."

"Why not?" Paige asked. "What's gotten into you?"

"I should have protected you," Piper said, her voice a little tearful. "You're my baby sister, I should have protected you from Druscila and Cole, but I didn't. I let them…. I let them…" Her voice trailed off as she felt a sudden wave of nausea hit her. She doubled over and started vomiting as Paige put a arm around her and tried to keep her calm.

"It's okay," Paige soothed, 'you're all right. You're okay. You're all right."

After Piper was done, Paige cleaned up the mess by magic and then let Piper rest in her lap.

"Come here. Now, you, Piper Jane Halliwell, are not a screw up or a bad big sister. You hear me?"

Piper nodded.

"If anything, you're the reason I do what I do. You're the reason I became who I am. You helped me through all the hard times I went through after we found each other again. You helped me overcome the guilt that I felt towards my parents' death, you did so much for me. I love you, Pipe. And that is something that will never change. It's not your fault about what happened with Druscila and Cole. It isn't. You're not responsible for other people's decisions."

Piper nodded, but she still wasn't convinced.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"I'm positive. Things happen for a reason. Believe me." She then gave Piper a kiss on her cheek and held her hand out. "Now, let's go home."

Piper nodded and returned Paige's hug.

"You got it, Missy Paige."

That night, Paige slept in Piper's bed. She felt like she needed to be close to her. They talked until well into the night and then fell asleep.

Around two o' clock in the morning, there was a soft knock at the door.

"Come in," Paige called softly. She had been woken up by the wind outside.

"Paige?" Came Charlotte's soft voice, "I can't sleep. Can I sleep with you, please?"

"Sure, Char. Come here." Paige took Charlotte into her lap and helped her and Ember get settled.

As Paige snuggled next to Piper, she smiled. This was how it was supposed to be. Home, safe and sound with the people she loved.

Paige planted a gentle kiss on Charlotte's cheek and patted Ember's mane.

"Good night, Char-Char, sweet dreams. I love you."

"I love you, sis," Charlotte said. "See you in the morning."

"Same here," Paige said.

As Paige tried to sleep, she whispered, "Good night, Prue. Night Mom. I love you guys so much. Thank you for helping Charlotte and I stay together. Please help me show her a better life full of unconditional love and security."

Up in heaven, Prue smiled down at her family and said, "Good night, Paige. Sweet dreams. I love you all so much. I'll always watch over you."

Meanwhile, back on earth, Paige was just drifting off when she felt a gentle, warm wind wash over her. She smiled, knowing that Prue had heard her and was answering her prayer.

As Paige drifted off, she was grateful that Piper and Phoebe now knew her family secret and she hoped and prayed that Charlotte would continue to do well and be happy with her.

She knew things were going to work out for all of them and she knew that no matter what happened, her sisters-all four of them-would always be there for her.

THE END


End file.
